Ancient Sparta is remembered for its rigid social order, legendary warriors and the severe education that shaped generations of citizen-soldiers. Yet behind the familiar divisions between Spartans, perioikoi and helots existed lesser-known groups whose place in society was far more complicated.
Among them were the mothakes, free men who were raised alongside the sons of full Spartan citizens despite not necessarily being citizens themselves.
The exact status and origins of the mothakes remain a matter of debate among historians, largely because surviving ancient references are limited. They appear to have been boys of lower social standing who were attached to Spartan households and educated together with the sons of the elite.
Ancient sources suggest that wealthy Spartan families could support mothakes and allow them to participate in the rigorous system of education known as the agoge.
This was significant because the agoge was central to Spartan identity. From childhood, boys were subjected to physical training, discipline, communal living and military preparation designed to transform them into members of Sparta’s famous warrior class. A mothax could therefore grow up beside future Spartan soldiers, sharing much of their upbringing while occupying a different social position.
Their existence complicates the popular image of Sparta as a society divided neatly into three groups: the full citizen Spartiates, the free but politically subordinate perioikoi, and the helots, the state-owned subjugated population. Unlike typical ancient Greek slaves owned by individuals, helots belonged to the Spartan state, meaning individual masters could not sell or freely emancipate them.
The origins of Mothax
The origins of the mothakes themselves are unclear.
Some historians have suggested that they may have included sons of impoverished Spartan families who could not afford the costs associated with full participation in citizen life. Others have proposed that some were children of Spartan fathers and helot women or dependants who were brought into wealthier households.
However, there is no firm evidence that all mothakes came from any single background.
One of the most intriguing ancient traditions concerning the group involves Lysander, the Spartan commander whose victories helped bring the Peloponnesian War to an end.
The historian Phylarchus, whose account survives indirectly through the later writer Athenaeus, reportedly described Lysander as a mothax who obtained full Spartan citizenship. If the tradition is accurate, it would mean that one of the most influential military figures in Spartan history began life outside the narrow circle of full Spartan citizens.
Lysander rose to command Sparta’s fleet and defeated the Athenians decisively at the Battle of Aegospotami in 405 BC. Athens surrendered the following year, ending almost three decades of conflict and establishing Sparta as the dominant power in the Greek world.
The claim about his origins remains disputed, but it illustrates how the boundaries of Spartan society could sometimes be more flexible than its reputation suggests.
The mothakes also reveal an important contradiction at the heart of Sparta.
Full Spartan citizens famously referred to themselves as the Homoioi, meaning the “Equals.” Yet the society surrounding them was marked by sharp differences in wealth, legal status and access to citizenship.
The forgotten mothakes occupied one of those uncertain spaces—close enough to the Spartan elite to receive its celebrated education, but not necessarily born into the privileges that came with being one of the Equals.
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